Carmen Chimiski

Ultimate Cloudscapes

When I used to travel a lot as a child, my favourite thing was always admiring the clouds. I loved to see them move, and when I was on a plane, I loved going inside these oversized fluffy cotton candy-looking clouds. I always gravitated to clouds, especially in my landscape photography; it created a new dimension that painted the scene. There are so many different styles of clouds that can change with movement, from the light strokes to the big fluffy ones that look like a cozy place to sleep can transform an image. A few years ago, I heard of this photographer that focused on the theme of cloudscapes and just pointed her camera to the sky and took these beautifully breathless photos, and I was in awe of how powerful it made me feel. The photographer's name was Tanya Zouev, and she was inspired to take pictures of these unique cloud formations that she witnessed in Western Australia. When I learned about cloudscape photography, I was inspired by Zouev and her words, "If the landscape isn't particularly inspiring, look up, and you never know what you'll see." I found those words so powerful and meaningful, In the past, I took many cloud photos, but I never got to explore the possibilities of focusing on only the clouds. It's not typical theme photographers take pictures of, but I believe that we always focus on what is usually in front of us and never look up and see what surrounds us every day, even when we don't often realize that it is there.